JP4422680B2 - Multimedia message transmission system and transmission method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a telecommunications system for transmitting multimedia messages from a first telecommunications terminal to a second telecommunications terminal via a telecommunications network. The inventive system comprises a message server provided for receiving the messages from the first terminal and for transmitting them to the second telecommunications terminal. The message server comprises means for developing a message broadcasting program to be downloaded by the second terminal for broadcasting the messages according to the characteristics of said second terminal.

Description

  The present invention relates to telecommunications systems, and more particularly to transmission of multimedia messages from a first telecommunications terminal to a second telecommunications terminal using a telecommunications network.

  The present invention is particularly applicable to message transmission to a mobile phone, but is also generally applicable to multimedia message transmission to all types of communication terminals such as telephones, PDAs (personal personal digital assistants), and microcomputer types.

When sending a multimedia message to a mobile phone or PDA in particular, the entire information contained in the message cannot be restored neatly due to the size and man-machine interface of the terminal. It is possible that this problem will occur. This problem becomes increasingly problematic when the message is generated from a microcomputer and is addressed to a mobile phone. In fact, in this case, the message must be converted into a format that is compatible with the end terminal so that all the information in the message can be properly restored.

  In addition, when implementing a MMS (Multimedia Message Service) that allows a user of a mobile terminal to send and receive messages including text, images, and sounds, the mobile terminal is onboard to retrieve and restore messages. The software client stored in is used. However, development of such a client is difficult. Any version of the MMS client supports the full functionality provided. When a new function is added to the MMS service, a user who has a mobile terminal equipped with an old version of the MMS client cannot use this new function. In addition, it is difficult to correct such a failure from a distance if there is a malfunction in the on-board software client that was communicated by the wrong operation.

  Finally, because different MMS clients are implemented, it cannot be guaranteed to the message originator that the created message will be displayed in the same way on all the mobile terminals that are the destination.

  In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a method of a telecommunications system that overcomes the above disadvantages.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a telecommunications system that transmits multimedia messages from a first telecommunications terminal to a second telecommunications terminal over a telecommunications network. The communication system comprises a message server for receiving the message from the first communication terminal and transmitting it to the second telecommunication terminal.

The message server includes means for generating a program for transmitting a message, and the program is downloaded by the second communication terminal to transmit the message according to characteristics of the second communication terminal.

Therefore, the message defined by the caller is displayed and the message sending program generated by the end user's request according to the characteristics of the terminal is permanently updated to adapt the message to different end-terminal properties. Can do.

  According to another characteristic of the telecommunications system according to the invention, the system further comprises a short message service center which sends a message notification to the second communication terminal after the message server receives the message.

According to another feature of the invention, the message server comprises means for identifying the type of terminal that is the destination of the message, and a database in which a set of terminal features is captured for each type of terminal, The transmission program is generated from the message server according to the identified characteristics of the second terminal.

For example, the first communication terminal includes an Internet browser used to generate a message.

  Another method includes a software application that creates a message that has been downloaded in advance and stored in the memory of the hardware resource management platform of the terminal.

According to a preferred embodiment, the message server communicates with a telecommunications operator database and generates the communication program from the first communication terminal extracted from the database or data relating to the owner of the first communication terminal. To do.

  According to another feature of the present invention, the transmission program displays a menu for selecting a procedure to be executed by the second communication terminal (12) on the screen of the second communication terminal, and An instruction code for starting execution may be included.

According to the present invention, a method for transmitting a multimedia message from a first telecommunication terminal to a second telecommunication terminal via a telecommunication network using the telecommunication system as described above,
Generating the message using the first telecommunication terminal;
Sending the message to the message server;
Sending a message notification to the second communication terminal;
Sending a request to send the message to the second communication terminal;
Generating a message communication program according to the characteristics of the second communication terminal in response to the communication request;
Downloading the transmission program;
Applying the transmission program.

According to one embodiment, in the step of generating the transmission program, a field including an indication of a terminal type to which the second communication terminal belongs is extracted from the transmission request, and the transmission program is stored in the terminal for each terminal type. It is generated from the features of the second communication terminal extracted from the database in which the feature set is captured.

  According to another characteristic of the method according to the invention, the message is notified by sending a short message via the short message service center.

According to a preferred embodiment, the communication program is generated from data extracted from a database of telecommunications operators in which information about the first communication terminal or the owner of the first communication terminal is stored.

  Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description as non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a telecommunications system according to the present invention. This system transmits a multimedia message from the first telecommunication terminal 10 to the second telecommunication terminal 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first terminal can communicate with the end terminal 12, and can generate any multimedia message and transmit it to the terminal 12. It may be of any kind. Accordingly, the first terminal 10 may be, for example, a mobile phone 14, a microcomputer 16, or a PDA (personal personal digital assistant), but generates and transmits a multimedia message from the service provider's service center. It can also be applied to.

For the second telecommunication device 12, the present invention is particularly applied to message transmission to a mobile phone. However, the present invention may be applied to the generation and transmission of multimedia messages for all types of communication devices such as PDAs (personal personal digital assistants) and fixed telephones.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the telecommunications system basically includes a message server 18 for receiving a message from the originating communication device 10 and passing the message to the end terminal 12. The message server 18 communicates with the source communication device 10 and the end terminal 12 via the telecommunication network to which the source communication device 10 and the end terminal 12 belong. Therefore, when each of the source communication device and the receiving terminal is a mobile phone, the message server 18 communicates with these devices via a mobile phone network.

  The telecommunications system further includes a short message service center SMSC 20 for notifying the terminal 12 of message reception by the message server 18. For example, this notification is performed by a short SMS (Short Message Service) message. However, such notification may be performed by the WAP Push service or by e-mail type email depending on the nature of the terminal 12 that is the destination of the message.

  In order to restore the received message, the message server 18 includes a compiler that generates a transmission program that communicates the data to be restored to the recipient. The compiler is intended to be executed in the terminal 12 so that a user having the terminal 12 can view the message.

According to the feature of the present invention, the transmission program is generated in response to a transmission request issued by the terminal device 12 and is generated so that the message is restored according to the feature of the terminal device 12.

Therefore, as will be described in detail later, the message server 12 includes a database in which typical characteristics of singular points, capacity limits of devices, and the like are stored for each terminal. These features are used to generate broadcast programs. As described above, in response to the download request issued from the terminal 12, the message server 18 extracts a field for identifying the type of the terminal from the header of the request, and stores the characteristics corresponding to the terminal that has issued the request in the database. Capture from. These features are then used to modify the transmission program product, or previously generated transmission program through compilation, to generate the transmission program. The transmission program includes an instruction code used in the terminal 12 to restore a message using the function and capacity of the terminal 12.

As already mentioned, this system allows multimedia messages to be generated and transmitted to the remote device 12, which is preferably a mobile phone. This message is generated by the source terminal 10 that is configured from a computer, a mobile phone, or a provider server. According to these three embodiments, the system performs a similar operation. In fact, in FIG. 1, the arrows indicate the operation steps of the multimedia message transmission method, and the above-described system is used as follows.

In order to proceed with the message generation , the multimedia bricks that have been captured in advance in the memory of the caller terminal 10 are assembled. When a microcomputer or a mobile phone is used, this assembly is performed by a web browser for the microcomputer 16 and a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) type or web type browser for the mobile phone. For example, in creating a message, the user selects and assembles a series of files, each corresponding to an image or video, and associates each file with a text or audio file. He or she may also program to enable certain functions of the terminal 12 on each screen, such as selecting a screen switching mode, sounding a buzzer, operating a keyboard or screen backlight, etc. This selects an eye-catching effect that the user wants to add to the message. The message may also be generated by a pre-downloaded application in which files are assembled or an application that defines a message presentation mode to make the creation of multimedia content more user friendly.

2 and 3 show an example of a man-machine interface that generates a message from the computer 16. As shown in the figure, the multimedia message to be transmitted to the mobile terminal 12 may be created by an interface shown on the screen of the computer 16. Such an interface includes, for example, a first window 24 used for selecting video content or an image, and changes the size of a region 26 where the video content or the selected image can be browsed and the size of the photo or video. Associated with a control area 28 that can be If necessary, the text to be superimposed on the image can be entered in the window 30. This window is associated with a first field 32 in which the name of the recipient can be entered and a second field 34 in which the ISDN number of the mobile terminal 12, i.e. the MSISDN number of the recipient can be entered. . Finally, message transmission can be controlled by the control button 36.

  As shown in FIG. 3, selection of window 24 allows access to a window 38 for browsing a set of available files and selecting content to be transmitted.

As already indicated, at the stage of generating this message, it is also possible to create a series of consecutive screens, each corresponding to an image or video content associated with text or audio content, for example a screen like crossfading. The user can also select a switching mode or a presentation mode in which, for example, a specific function of the terminal 12 is operated.

  After composing the message and operating the control button 36, the multimedia content is sent to the message server 18 (step 40). In response to this, the message server 18 notifies the short message service center 20 of receipt of the message (step 42). The arrival of such a message is then notified as a short message 22 to a remote user or all destinations (step 44).

  If the user wants to read this message, a send request is sent to the message server 18 (step 46). In response to this, the server 18 extracts the display of the type to which the mobile terminal 12 belongs from the header of the transmission request, and extracts the feature list of the terminal 12 from the database. Thereafter, the transmission program is compiled from these characteristics and transmitted to the terminal 12 (step 48). By executing the transmission program at the terminal 12, a message is presented to the recipient using the function of the terminal 12.

In FIG. 4, a similar procedure is used for the generation and transmission of multimedia messages by the mobile phone 14.

In fact, the procedure begins with a first step 50 of selecting video content or images, followed by a step 52 in which the user adds text to the message thus generated and selects a recipient list. An interface similar to that described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 but having a simpler structure may be used to generate the message. In the next step 54, the message is sent to the message server, notifying the end user via the short message service center 20. If a user at a remote location wants to restore the message, a transmission request is automatically transmitted to the message server 18, and the message server 18 generates a transmission program and transmits it to the terminal 12 (step 56).

As in the example described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, this procedure generates a message from the mobile terminal according to this, but it is also possible to create a message of a different nature. These messages are, for example, a series of images and video content associated with text information if necessary, for example by selecting a continuous mode of images or activating certain functions of the terminal. Presentation modes can be predefined.

Further, as already described, in the generation and transmission of the message of the present invention, any telecommunication device 10 suitable for such a use or any computer device 10 such as a server is used. be able to.

An embodiment of a method for sending a multimedia message that uses a server to generate and send such a message is similar to the mode of operation already described. In this case, however, all operations are automated.

In each of the embodiments described above, the generation of the transmission program may be performed according to a separate technique.

Thus, for example, the broadcast program may be generated as a MIDlet type application developed by a specific platform embedded in a message server. The MIDlet may be, for example, a Java (registered trademark) type application generated by a J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) platform developed by Sun Microsystems, and the mobile terminal executes the broadcast program. A corresponding J2ME platform may be provided.

However, such a transmission program may be generated using other techniques. Specific platforms include, for example, the Symbian OS (registered trademark) platform developed by Symbian, and SmartPhone (registered trademark) developed by Microsoft.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure and operation of a telecommunication system of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the computer screen on which the man-machine interface which can produce | generate a multimedia message was displayed. FIG. 3 illustrates the man-machine interface of FIG. 2 used to select photos for generating multimedia messages. It is a figure which shows the production | generation of the multimedia message by a mobile telephone. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the telecommunications system of the present invention.

Claims (12)

A telecommunication system for transmitting a multimedia message from a first communication terminal (10) to a second communication terminal (12) via a telecommunication network,
A message server (18) for receiving the message from the first communication terminal and transmitting it to the second communication terminal;
The message server (18) includes means for generating a transmission program ,
The transmission program, a telecommunication system characterized in downloaded by the second communication terminal (12) is, that in order to restore the said message on said second communication terminal according to the characteristics of the second communication terminal .   The telecommunications system according to claim 1, further comprising a short message service center (20) for transmitting a message notification to the second communication terminal after the message server receives the message.   The telecommunications system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transmission program is generated by the message server (18) according to the characteristics of the second communication terminal. Said message server (18) means for identifying the type of terminal that is the destination of the message;
A database in which a set of features of the terminal is captured for each type of terminal, and
4. The telecommunications system according to claim 3, wherein the transmission program is generated from characteristics of the identified terminal type.   Telecommunication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first communication terminal (10) comprises an internet browser used for generating messages.   5. The first communication terminal (10) includes a software application for creating a message downloaded in advance and stored in a memory of a hardware resource management platform of the first communication terminal. A telecommunications system according to any of the above.   The message server (18) communicates with a telecommunications operator database (58), and the database transmits the transmission program from the first communication terminal extracted from the database or data relating to the owner of the first communication terminal. The telecommunications system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that:   The transmission program includes an instruction code for displaying a menu for selecting a procedure to be executed by the second communication terminal (12) on the screen of the second communication terminal and starting execution of the procedure. A telecommunications system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A method for transmitting a multimedia message from a first communication terminal (10) to a second communication terminal (12) via a telecommunication network using the telecommunication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising:
Generating the message by the first communication terminal (10);
Sending (40) the message to the message server (18) by the first communication terminal (10);
Sending a message notification to the second communication terminal (12) by the message server (18) (42, 44);
Sending a message transmission request to the second communication terminal by the message server (18);
Downloaded by the message server (18) by the second communication terminal (12) to restore the message on the second communication terminal according to the characteristics of the second communication terminal (12) in response to the transmission request is the, and generating a transmission program,
Downloading the transmission program to the second communication terminal (12) (48);
Applying the transmission program to the second communication terminal (12).   In the step of generating the transmission program, a field including an indication of a terminal type to which the second communication terminal belongs is extracted from the transmission request, and the transmission program is loaded with a set of characteristics of the terminal for each terminal type. The telecommunications method according to claim 9, wherein the telecommunications method is generated from the characteristics of the second communication terminal extracted from a stored database.   11. The telecommunications method according to claim 10, wherein the notification of the message is performed by sending a short message via the short message service center (20).   10. The transmission program is generated from data extracted from a database of a telecommunications operator in which information about the first communication terminal (10) or the owner of the first communication terminal is stored. 11. The telecommunications method according to any one of 11 to 11.

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